Leaving Here Tonight
by Kanais
Summary: Bella is upset when Edward vanishes from her life. She goes to the forest to sort things out. AU oneshot. R/R please!


Leaving Here Tonight - a Twilight fanfic.

Bella and Edward belong to Stephanie Meyers.  
Lyrics (in italics) belong to the group Evanescence.  
The forest belongs entirely to me. :D

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Bella ran through the woods for what seemed like hours, calling out desperately for him even though half of her heart was telling her that he was gone forever. After a while, her steps became heavier and she slowed to a stop against a nearby tree. Exhausted and to the point of tears, she nearly fell as she leaned against a tree and slid to the grassy patch below it. As her head cleared, she looked around and realized that she was in completely unfamiliar territory; the sun was becoming barely visible between the thick tree trunks that stretched out for what looked like miles in any direction. She was lost, and she knew it. Bella buried her head in her hands and cried in frustration.

"I was such an idiot.... why did I fall for him... why can't I stop loving him?"

Her mind drifted back to the month before, when she had convinced Jacob to fix up the two old bikes, and then nearly killed herself on one of them -- she had heard his voice in her head, and that's what mattered. Bella remembered how she had thrown herself off the cliff in an effort to hear his voice again... so terrible and wonderful, and the aching pain that followed when his voice faded from her memory. She screamed out to the seemingly-empty forest that swallowed her words up in uncaring silence.

"HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO STUPID?"

Bella curled up, pulling her knees tighter to her chest and wrapping her arms around them as if to close up the gaping hole inside her heart. As her sobbing slowly subsided and her breathing became even, she raised her head from her knees and opened her eyes. She knew that she would probably be spending the night in the forest, as the only light she saw came from the bright moon in the clear sky, high above the treetops. It was a cold night, and she shivered as the wind blew heavily past her. She leaned on her side against the large tree trunk, zipping up her jacket in an effort to conserve her warmth and then pulling her arms out of the sleeves. She placed the sleeves between her head and the hard bark of the tree as a sort of pillow, but it wasn't all that comfortable. Oh well, it was better than nothing. Bella then realized how tired she had become. Her eyes were sore from all the crying, and rubbing them probably wasn't helping. She was exhausted from running, and it took a lot of effort to move her legs, so she soon gave up trying. The one thought she had before collapsing into uneasy sleep was the one name she hadn't dared utter for nearly two weeks.

Edward.

-------- part 2 -----

Bella plunged into her dreams headfirst -- a haze of pale white, shimmering, almost glowing with all its brilliance. It reminded her of the one person she wanted to see most, and at the same time she dreaded facing him again. She was now aware that she was not running at all, but floating. As she drifted through the haze, she heard that same voice that made her want to shout for joy and scream in pain -- she heard Edward. His voice was soft and melodic, and she knew she must wake up, but couldn't bear to break away from what she had longed to hear.

_  
Dear my love, haven't you wanted to be with me__  
_

_And dear my love, haven't you longed to be free  
_

_I can't keep pretending that I don't even know you  
_

_At sweet night, you are my own  
_

Edward's soft voice enveloped her, and she let his music fill the air, scarcely breathing for fear it would shatter the melody. She let the words wrap themselves around her like a blanket, holding them close to her heart. As the music faded, she strained to hear every single note and grasped desperately for them, trying to make them stay. The desire to wake up was fading -- it was so much better here, and she longed to see Edward again, even in a dream. She looked out into the vast ocean of white and saw a figure slowly walking towards her, unmoving. The closer she got, the more realized that the figure wasn't the one moving, she was. The thought dawned upon her that it was him; the now-silent figure was Edward. She urged her body to move faster; she needed to see him more than anything. Bella called out to Edward in song, letting the music reach him faster than herself.

_  
I have dreamt of a place for you and I  
__  
No one knows who we are there_

_All I want is to give my life only to you  
__  
I've dreamt so long I cannot dream anymore_

_Let's run away, I'll take you there  
_

As Bella sang, she felt herself moving towards Edward, the music drawing them closer. She finally embraced him and felt her warm skin cooled by his icy touch. He seemed as cold as death; it was almost unbearable, but she didn't care. She finally had the one thing she was longing for most, and she didn't want to let go. Bella looked up at his quiet face and saw that he was sparkling as he looked down at her. Edward wrapped his arms around her so that her back was against his chest. Bella pressed her body into his and continued her song; he joined in this time, adding a rich harmony that blended with her vibrant melody. The two entwined tightly, yet remained strong and individual.

_  
Take my hand, we're leaving here tonight_

_There's no need to tell anyone, they'd only hold us down_

_So by the morning light_

_We'll be halfway to anywhere_

_Where love is more than just your name_

The last traces of their music finally gone, Bella sighed happily and leaned into Edward's chest, nestled in the crook of his arm. She wished she could stay like this forever. Bella felt herself becoming heavy and she struggled to keep her eyes open. Edward picked her up, putting one arm under her legs and another by her shoulders, holding her close to him for support. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head against him.

"I'm so tired, Edward, but I don't want to fall asleep..." she murmured into him.

"It's okay, I've got you, Bella. Don't worry, I won't let you go."

Bella forced herself to open her eyes once more, looking straight into his. He leaned down, softly blowing a small lock of hair away from her face, kissed her forehead, then kissed her sweetly on the lips. His cold touch made a shiver run through her, and she felt the chill settle over her heart. They finally ended the kiss; Bella sank down into Edward's arm again, looking up at him quietly. When she spoke, her eyes were full of sleep and her words became softer.

"I need to rest...I don't want you to go...please don't go...will you stay with me, Edward?"

"I'll be here when you wake up, I promise."

Bella, her eyes now closed, only smiled in response. Her arms slowly slid down from around his neck to rest on her chest. Edward looked down at her lovingly, watching her breathe, with a smile still on her face.

----------------------------

When the dawn broke over the treetops the next morning, the peaceful silence of the forest was uninterrupted; the only thing to be seen was the body of a young female, lying serenely on a grassy patch beneath a tree. Her legs were tucked to one side, her arms were folded across her unmoving chest, and she appeared to be smiling.

[Fin.]

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Author's Note: This idea has been bugging me for around two days so I finally caved in to the voices in my head and wrote it. The lyrics are from the song 'Anywhere' by Evanescence, and once I read Twilight, this song sounded an awful lot like something from the book. (Please note, I've only read the first two books so far.)  
I haven't written/published anything real in just about forever -- the only other things in my account on fanfiction are taken from a dream I had and a writing workshop that failed rather miserably around 2005.

I'd love to know what people think of this.. I'm fairly happy with it -- which is saying quite a lot for me. Thanks!

One anonymous review caught my eye and I just had to put it here:

"Five stars! I thought this story was very well written, it builds up a sense  
of romantic hopeful warmth which helps abate the unfriendly coldness of that  
which is "outside" the cold, dark forests of the mind, and the long forlorn  
winters of the heart. And yet the author had the courage to portray that in  
reality those hopes and dreams, and faded memories, are intangible, and in the  
end, all things pass. But let us think of such warm moments, that we may smile  
as we slip into the bitter, eternal cold."


End file.
